Orange revolution

The Orange revolution is a series of peaceful popular protests having taken place in Ukraine following the proclamation the November 21st 2004 of the result of the second round of the presidential election. Organized by the initial candidate losing with the presidency Viktor Iouchtchenko and its allied Ioulia Tymochenko and profiting from the indirect support of the the United States and the European Union, it mobilized more than one half-million of demonstrators with Kiev and through the country during a fifteen or so days.

Context

August 1st

Through the orange revolution, and after the Revolution of the pinks in Georgia (November 2003), it would be the fight of influence which would deliver out of silencing device Moscow and Washington in the zone which shows through.

The spontaneous character of the movement is called in question by Russia and the parties pro-Russians: the Revolution would have profited outside assistances and in particular from financial supports of mediums close to the interests to US government or opposing to the mode to Vladimir Poutine. For the opponents with the orange revolution, that Ci would have aimed to isolate Russia from the countries of Eastern Europe.

History

The result of the second turn the presidential election and the beginning of the orange revolution

Following the first turn, where no candidate reached the 50% of votes necessary for a victory to the first turn, a second round is organized the November 21st 2004. The surveys of exit of the ballot boxes indicated an advance of 11% for Iouchtchenko. Foreign observers, like OECD, brought back irregularities and allegations of electoral Fraud were advanced. Iouchtchenko and its partisans refused the official results. They organized then protest meetings through the country and encouraged with a general strike. Several municipalities, of which those of Kiev and Lviv, announced that they did not accept the presidency of Ianoukovitch.

The November 23rd 2004, a peaceful demonstration gathering approximately a half-million defenders of Iouchtchenko took place on the place of Independence in Kiev, in front of the seat of the Ukrainian Parlement, the Verkhovna Rada . In spite of the cold and snow, the demonstrators remained in the streets. They raised flags of orange color, principal symbol of the movement. Many orange streamers carrying the slogan Tak! Yushchenko! ( tak means “yes” in Ukrainian) appeared in the processions. Inside the Verkhovna Split , Iouchtchenko symbolically lent oath like “president”, in front of the defenders of the Parliament.

The Western governments, in spite of the firm Russian opposition of Vladimir Poutine, supported that there was irregularity of the elections, while Putin and Belorusse president Loukachenko were the only ones to recognize the election of Ianoukovitch and to congratulate it, before even as she is not proclaimed by the Ukrainian electoral commission.

The third turn and victory of Viktor Iouchtchenko

After difficult negotiations, the two parties, helped by the European Union, in particular by the Polish diplomacy and the Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski, agreed to hold a third turn the December 26th 2004. The Ukrainian constitution was also modified by Split in a more parliamentary direction, but it is coming into effect only in 2006.

The international press qualified this movement of “orange revolution” (which was the color of the party of the candidate) and underlined the almost total absence of violent incidents, as well as the political awakening of the Ukrainians. In 2001, a protest movement against president Koutchma had degenerated into confrontations with the police force.

Following the behavior of the “third turn”, Viktor Iouchtchenko was credited with 51,99 %, against 44,19 % for its rival, Viktor Ianoukovitch. This last, a little later announced that it would carry felt sorry for against the many frauds which the partisans of Viktor Iouchtchenko would have made. The four complaints which it deposited were invalidated by the Ukrainian Supreme court.

During this time, several citizens carried felt sorry for, individually, against of the frauds of which they were pilot. The complaints were accepted by Fax and the contents of the majority of the complaints were identical - only the name and the signature differed. These complaints delayed the official proclamation of the victory of Viktor Iouchtchenko.

The December 29th, of the partisans of Iouchtchenko, with its request, blocked the access to the seat of the government in order to prevent the behavior of the Council of Ministers. According to Iouchtchenko, the government did not have any more the right of meeting, since it was dissolves by the Parliament following the frauds at the time of the second turn. However, with respect to the Ukrainian law, this dissolution must be approved by the Ukrainian president, Leonid Koutchma, which was not the case. Following the examination of ballot papers of the “third turn”, Leonid Koutchma declared that the loser was to announce his defeat.

The December 31st, Viktor Ianoukovitch finally resigned of its station of Prime Minister without however recognizing his defeat. He announced that he will use all the legal means to make invalidate this “third turn”. The January 20th 2005, the Ukrainian Supreme court rejected the complaint of Viktor Ianoukovitch and so announces that this decision was without call, Viktor Iouchtchenko was declared victorious presidential election.

The January 23rd, Viktor Iouchtchenko lent oath and was invested like chair of the Ukraine, which was one of the objectives of the Orange revolution.

Continuations of the Orange revolution

August 1st

Controversies

Financing of the Orange revolution

The logistics of this demonstration seems to be largely envisaged by the organizations Pora and Znayu , which has bonds proven with the movement Otpor which had succeeded in making fall the Serb former president Slobodan Milošević in July 2000 and had been already implied in the Révolution of the pinks georgienne of December 2002, like in the attempts at inversion of the dictatorial mode Belorusse of 2001 and 2004.

These organizations themselves would be fed by American organizations, the such Konrad Adenauer Institute , near to the CDU, the Open Society Institute of George Soros, the National Democratic Institute , near to the American democratic party and the Freedom House , near to the US government.

The origin of these funds was pointed finger by the Ukrainian ex-capacity, the Russian government as well as Western groups of extreme left, which showed the US government to have organized a handling of the Ukrainian population to extend their zone of influence.

The billionaire israélo-Russian Boris Abramovitch Berezovsky affirmed that it did not send money to the parties (only the Ukrainian law prohibited) but “to movements pro-democracy”. He affirms to have transmitted the money on the accounts of close relations of president Victor Iouchtchenko who have, them, denied this financing.

Registered trademark

The Slogan Tak! Iouchtchenko (“Yes! Iouchtchenko”) is a Registered trademark, which is currently with the exclusive Bénéfice of the son of president Iouchtchenko, Andriy Iouchtchenko.

The logo would have been deposited to prevent that it is not diverted, but since the end of the orange revolution, its rights were transferred to the son of the president, which because a controversy on the luxurious way of life of this last.

See too

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